One of the highest jackpots in the history of the game, the Powerball jackpot has increased once more, this time to an estimated $875 million.
Following Wednesday night’s drawing, which featured the winning numbers 23-35-45-66-67 and a Powerball of 20, no players were able to match all six numbers.
Next to the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2016 and the world record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won last year, the new prize for Saturday’s drawing is the third-largest in the history of the lottery game.
If someone picks all six numbers correctly and wins the drawing on Saturday, they can opt to receive the $875 million prize in annual installments or a one-time lump sum payment of $441.9 million before taxes.
According to game administrators, there hasn’t been a significant prize winner in 36 straight Powerball draws. On April 19, a ticket purchased in Ohio that has the correct winning numbers won the $252.6 million Powerball jackpot.
According to research, about 60% of the money made by U.S. state lotteries goes directly to the winners, with the governments keeping the rest after paying out prizes and other expenses like advertising. However, for bigger lotteries like Mega Millions or Powerball, just 50% of ticket sales go towards the prize fund.
Along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Powerball is played in 45 states. Alabama, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada are the only five states that don’t offer lottery tickets.